After tissue has been wounded or cut, the opening must be surgically closed to stop bleeding and enable healing of the tissue. In cases of severe bleeding, one attempt to stem blood loss is the application of a hemostatic agent, such as collagen, from a syringe barrel to the wound to form a wound dressing. The hemostatic agent, on contact with blood, acts to stem bleeding.
However, when the hemostatic material is packaged, over time, shrinkage occurs within the matrix of collagen fibers, often about fifteen percent. This shrinkage can allow the mass of collagen to slide out of the syringe barrel. Further, after a portion of the mass of collagen has been dispersed from the barrel, the remaining amount has a tendency to fall out of the barrel.
In cases of laparoscopic surgery where application of hemostatic agent is necessary, a patient's abdominal cavity is pressurized with gas in order to lift the muscles on the abdominal wall away from the internal organs. A cannula extending through the patient's abdominal wall provides access for instruments, such as syringes, to the abdominal cavity. However, gas often leaks past instruments through a lumen, defined by the cannula, and out of the abdominal cavity, thereby necessitating reinflation of the abdominal cavity.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method for applying a hemostatic agent to a surface of tissue, which minimizes or overcomes the problems discussed above.